neutral

Commonly used to describe a person who doesn’t pick sides in disputes, neutral also pegs anything that refuses to be bold: the color beige, bland clothing, people with no preferences on where to eat for dinner.

Being neutral sounds kind of boring. But neutrality is really important in some cases: Judges, for example, must remain totally neutral when hearing a case. Manners mavens say that it's best to remain neutral when topics like politics and religion come up during a party. And boxers can look to the neutral corners in the ring to escape a punch.